Mark Carney, the new Bank of England boss, takes Tube for 7am start

 
Outrage: the Wife of Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has sparked anger
PA

New Bank of England governor Mark Carney took the Tube to the office today for his first day in the £480,000- a-year job.

The Canadian has decided to use public transport wherever possible in future, say Bank insiders, unlike predecessor Sir Mervyn King who was driven to and from his home.

Mr Carney arrived at 7am and spent time greeting staff before going into his first key meeting, a briefing to members of the Monetary Policy Committee that lasted from 9.30am to lunchtime.

Sterling dipped in early trading as investors fretted that he may ease policies to boost economic recovery. The pound dipped to $1.5205 in early trading but then bounced up again.

Mixed news greeted the new governor. Figures showed British manufacturing enjoyed the strongest growth in more than two years in June, a fresh sign of momentum in the economy, and mortgage approvals hit the best level in three and a half years, with 58,242 home loans approved in May 2013, up from 54,354 in April.

However, net lending to non-financial companies fell by a further £1.3 billion in May after a drop of £3 billion in April.

The governor will receive an annual accommodation allowance of £250,000. In addition he is entitled to claim 30 per cent of his salary in lieu of pension, worth an extra £144,000 a year.

Mr Carney, the first foreigner to head the Bank in its 319-year history, is currently living in central London but he and wife Diana are looking for a house in West Hampstead. Tonight he will dine with Chancellor George Osborne, but investors are more keenly anticipating his first MPC meeting on Thursday.

Howard Archer, of Global Insight, said the lending fall was a “ blackspot” in otherwise good news. Investors would wait for the minutes of Thursday’s meeting and would be cautious. “At the back of people’s minds is the worry that he might want to start with a bang,” he said.

Economist Philip Shaw, of Investec, said: “We think any change in the quantitative easing target or the bank rate is unlikely this week. We would have to say that the recent run of economic indicators has been very positive recently.”

Mr Carney is widely expected to push for a more active stance towards monetary policy, but it is thought he will hold off from leading a major offensive so soon after taking on the job. Experts believe the MPC will keep quantitative easing on hold at £375 billion and the interest rate will stay at 0.5 per cent.

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